Indians and Aliens is a fantastic six-part documentary series exploring the surprisingly large number of UFO encounters in the vast, remote Cree territory of northern Quebec, Canada. Director Ernest Webb, himself a Cree native, speaks with local Cree as well as scientists and experts (including a familiar face in the UFO community, Chris Rutkowski) in a bid to understand the phenomenon. Although UFOs and encounters with otherworldly beings have long been a part of Cree traditions, it’s no less a mystery to them as it is to the rest of us. And the mystery continues to perplex Cree communities into the 21st century. Webb describes his documentary as the Cree’s “contribution to the global dialogue on Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon.”
“One thing is certain, with all the stories filtering in from the different communities, from so many different people, something is out there. The question is: what and who?”
It’s easy to say the UFOs are just misunderstood atmospheric lights, due to the far northern latitude, or the military up to shenanigans thinking no one’s around to see them. But as Indians and Aliens clearly shows, Cree natives have stories of these unidentified lights stretching back generations. As one man said, some stories describe animals that are now extinct — that’s how old the stories are, and how long they have been handed down. Clearly, UFOs in this region have been around long before the word shenanigans reached North America.
Indians and Aliens is currently being shown in full, for free, on Australian network SBS for the next two weeks. If that’s geo-blocked for folks outside of Australia (oh the irony!), or you’re reading this in the future, then use your Google Fu. Like the truth, the documentary is out there.
For another fascinating look at the UFO mystery from an indigenous perspective, Encounters With Star People by Ardy Sixkiller Clarke is a must read. Dr Clarke, a Professor Emeritus at Montana State University, has worked extensively with American Indian communities. Being a part of their communities herself, she continually heard tales of close encounters with strange beings and lights in the skies. From reservation elders to policemen and basketball players, Dr Clarke was stunned at the number of stories she was personally told, and the consistency of their strangeness. Embedded below is a 2-hour interview with Dr Clarke on the Grimerica Show. And definitely read her book, which apparently is just a fraction of the many stories she’s recorded over the years.
So only rednecks named Bubba see UFOs on hunting trips? Try harder, skeptics and cynics! As Webb and Clarke have shown, the UFO mystery transcends modern America and has been a part of human history. The stories presented by Webb and Clarke also point to a spiritual side to the UFO enigma. The documentary begins with the suggestion of occupants of interplanetary most extraordinary traveling from other star systems. It’s possible, the universe is infinite. But often throughout the series, their purpose for visiting our little blue and green planet is often interpreted as metaphysical than physical. It’s also a testament to many American Indians (and I use this honorific instead of Native American, for reasons Dr Clarke explains in the Grimerica podcast) that they’re willing to accept the mystery, integrate it into their traditions… and just let it be a mystery, for mystery’ sake.
Encounters With Star People: Untold Stories of American Indians
Amazon US/Kindle
Amazon UK/Kindle.
Sky People: Untold Stories of Alien Encounters in Mesoamerica
Amazon US/Kindle.
